Seeing Vhagar and Viserion chasing each other through the sky, Balerion slipped free from Gendry's shoulder, flew upward, and joined the contest.
The Riverlands, as Gendry and the old knight spoke of them, were in truth the crossroads of Westeros. They bordered the North, the Vale, the Westerlands, the Crownlands, and even the Iron Islands. Whenever great wars broke out, they were always the ones to suffer, and their lords often went their own way.
Many First Men houses had once ruled there under the title of River King, including House Fisher, House Blackwood, House Bracken, and House Mudd. After the Andal invasion, the most successful River Kings were House Justman, founded by a bastard of Bracken and Blackwood, and House Teague.
But House Teague, the last native River Kings, perished in the War of the Six Kings. The Riverlands first fell into the hands of the Storm Kings of House Durrandon, and were later ruled by the Kings of the Isles and the Rivers from House Hoare of the Iron Islands. After that, during Aegon's Conquest, Aegon the Conqueror created the office of Lord Paramount of the Trident for the lords of the Riverlands, bringing the Riverlands into the Seven Kingdoms.
"I mean to make a new Crownlands," Gendry said. "In ancient days, the Storm Kings expanded this far, and the ironborn once forged a kingdom of the Iron Islands and the rivers. If I drive the lions out for the people of the Trident, what is wrong with that?"
If the Crownlands, the Riverlands, and the Stormlands were joined as one, and the Iron Islands were ground down besides, then the king's power would truly become boundless, instead of being limited to a single region as it was now.
"Prince, is that not too cruel? Ser Edmure may be foolish, but he does care for his people. He is merely incompetent," Ser Barristan asked slowly.
If Gendry sent troops to lift the siege, he would not be doing it for nothing. An uninvited savior would, in the end, strip House Tully of its rule and authority over the Riverlands.
"Do you think I am cruel?" Gendry asked Anguy instead.
"What is there to call cruel about it? I remember that before the Dragonlords came, we in the Stormlands ruled the Trident too," Anguy muttered. "The trouts are so useless, we may as well take the Trident back."
"Cruel? Old ser, your heart is kind. But these are no ordinary times. This is an age where order has collapsed, an age where beasts devour men. If House Lannister wins, House Tully will not only lose the lordship of the Trident, they will lose Riverrun as well. I am already being kind. I only mean to take Harrenhal and the Trident," Gendry said to Ser Barristan.
Ser Barristan said, "The late king, your royal father King Robert, once ruled with mercy and won men's hearts."
"And the king's rule was ruined by that very mercy. To govern a realm, one must temper lenience with severity. King Robert pardoned the rose and joined hands with the lion. Do you see those people remembering his kindness? He died a baffling death, one that will be laughed at in the histories. Though these things are not King Robert's fault alone. His base was too small."
"Did House Tully rule as kings for generations? Does House Tully possess the wealth and people needed to dominate the Trident?" Gendry asked Barristan directly.
House Tully had neither great talent nor much capital, and even less noble blood. If they were to fall as the losers in war, they would most likely be the most miserable of all.
"No, they do not. Compared with House Tully, House Bracken, House Blackwood, House Vance, and even the upstart House Frey hold broader lands and can raise more men. House Mallister of Seagard has nobler blood. House Mooton of Maidenpool is far wealthier than House Tully. And then there is Harrenhal. Cursed though it is, and burned though it stands, that castle is still more awe inspiring than Riverrun, and ten times its size," Ser Barristan had to admit. House Tully did not shine especially brightly in the Riverlands.
"Then why did they become the rulers of the Riverlands?" Anguy could not help asking.
"The truth is that House Tully has always known how to judge the times," Gendry said. "Ser Barristan should know that." Riverrun was indeed a formidable stronghold, but House Tully's greater talent lay in choosing the winning side.
"The history of House Tully goes back to the Age of the First Men. The first Edmure Tully fought beside Tristifer IV, the Hammer of Justice, and won ninety nine battles. After Tristifer's death, Edmure submitted to Armistead Vance, the strongest Andal conqueror of that age. During the rule of the Storm Kings, House Tully remained loyal. When the ironborn came, the Tullys preserved themselves wisely. When the Dragonlord came, House Tully led lords great and small in welcoming him with open arms," Ser Barristan recounted slowly. "Most recently, during the Usurper War, House Tully joined the cause of the late king through marriage ties with House Stark and House Arryn."
"And that is precisely why I think the Riverlands can be manipulated," Gendry said.
Because of its long history of chaos and its lack of defensible terrain, the Riverlands had developed a way of thinking that went wherever strength and survival led. When the ironborn came, they followed the ironborn. When the Storm Kings came, they followed the Storm Kings. And House Tully was the best of them all at that game.
House Tully had risen in the first place by clinging to the Dragonlord's leg, yet in the end Hoster Tully repaid House Targaryen with betrayal. It would not be fair to blame House Tully alone for Hoster's strong support of Robert's rebellion, but the way Hoster went about it was indeed ugly.
Ser Barristan looked at Gendry and let out a sigh. "Perhaps. Perhaps you are right. I may be a qualified knight, but I am no qualified player in the game of power."
"Time passes too quickly, Ser Barristan," Gendry said. "So quickly that none of us can keep up with how the times are changing."
"That is true. Looking back, I saw the Unlikely, Duncan the Small, Duncan the Tall. I saw the Mad King and Tywin turn against one another. I saw the False Spring. It all passed far too quickly. But at least I still have my loyalty and courage."
"There is one more thing you may not have considered, ser," Gendry said to Barristan. "Winter is coming. This long summer will end sooner or later. When the cold winter arrives, I cannot meet it with a shattered Westeros."
Many measures that would seem cruel in times of peace could still be justified beneath the shadow of the Long Night. To survive a long winter, strong leadership was needed.
Barristan thought for a moment. "That is something I have worried about as well, but the king and those young men never gave it any thought. Compared with a long winter, with its bitter winds and falling snow, the struggle for power among men suddenly seems far less frightening."
As they were speaking, the aged Maester Qyburn arrived with the latest news. He was tall and slightly stooped, with many wrinkles around his prominent blue eyes. He was plainly an old man, yet there was more gray than white in his hair, and the smile that always lingered at the corners of his mouth made him look like the sort of grandfather little girls might adore.
"Prince Oberyn has caught the prey he wanted in the Riverlands. A big one," Qyburn said.
"The Mountain?" Ser Barristan guessed at once.
"Yes." Gendry nodded. "Tywin's favorite mad dog. Amory Lorch is next."
Anguy suddenly cut in. "That mad giant. The sight of him is enough to chill the blood."
"Yes," Gendry said. "I killed him not only because he was Daenerys's enemy, and mine, but because he was the enemy of countless common people as well. Tywin has relied on his power to bring suffering to the people of King's Landing and the Riverlands. I will judge him for it."
"The truth is not a pleasant thing. The late king was an excellent knight, righteous and brave, but he truly was a failed king. He relied too much on Lannister gold and paid too little mind to the realm," Barristan said with a sigh. "A mad dog may be loosed to bite, but when it grows too deranged, it must be put down."
"The late king may have been a fine warrior, but he did not love this kingdom. He was too good to the nobles and too harsh on the people. Tywin and Renly are not my true enemies. My true enemies are the long winter and the cold night, and slave states like Volantis and Lys."
"I have seen too many failed kings, superstitious kings, mad kings, whoring kings. That is why I have always been searching for a true monarch. You have the makings of a true king. I hope to serve as your loyal knight until the end of my life."
"You will not be disappointed, ser." Gendry looked at Ser Barristan, who had gone down on one knee before him.
"I give this to you."
Gendry drew his sword and handed it to Barristan.
"I have received a new sword from my king."
Barristan knelt on one knee, laid the longsword across the ground before Gendry's feet, and spoke his oath.
"Rise, old knight." Gendry bade Barristan stand.
"You have come at just the right time, Maester Qyburn. We were discussing ships crossing the Narrow Sea," Gendry said to Qyburn. "Crossing the sea, then taking a bite out of Tywin or the Kingslayer."
"Tywin has twenty thousand men and is closer to us, but those twenty thousand are the elite of the Westerlands. The Kingslayer has fifteen thousand, but they are spread out on three sides of Riverrun. They are more scattered and easier to strike, but much farther away," Ser Barristan said. "Either way, it is not an easy choice. If we want to wipe out Tywin's twenty thousand elites on open ground, we would need at least twice that strength. Otherwise, even victory would come hard."
"I think it is a good plan, but the Vale, the North, Dorne, the Crownlands, and the Stormlands all lie along the coast. We need to find the right place," Qyburn said.
"But if we gather a great host, we are bound to alert Tywin. And if we go by sea, we must also consider what Stannis intends to do," Barristan said.
"If we go by sea and land alike, we may need to negotiate with Stannis first. Otherwise, we would be striking at the royal fleet," Qyburn said in agreement.
"The Riverlands are a complete mess right now. There are no troops there to speak of. We have the support of the Crackclaws, but their numbers are too small. I hope Jon brings me good news from the Vale," Gendry said.
He still meant to stir up the armies of the Vale and Crackclaw Point.
Gendry had heard that the knights of the Vale were also unmatched in battle, but the Vale was now under the rule of a mad woman. Its lords were restless, yet unable to force their way past the Bloody Gate. The Vale and the North had many ties of kinship, after all, and Eddard had even been fostered by House Arryn of the Vale.